Trump's Golf Trips Cost Americans Millions – and Texans Their Lives

Texas officials blame the National Weather Service – the NWS blames DOGE

27 people are dead and dozens more are missing, including 20 girls from a summer camp, in Texas after deadly flooding ripped through the region. Texas officials blamed the National Weather Service for inaccurate forecasts that said amounts of rain would be much lower than they were; the NWS was one of many crucial agencies cut suddenly by DOGE and recently lost over 600 employees — the same number of staffers they lost in the last 15 years in total. Experts warned that these major cuts would impact the NWS’s ability to accurately predict major weather events and endanger residents, but DOGE cut them anyway.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was also drastically cut by Trump — a provision that Members of Congress warned would devastate communities hit by natural disasters. This shouldn’t have even been a conversation — red states like Texas and Florida tend to get hit with natural disasters more frequently and rely on billions of dollars of aid from FEMA to rebuild. Instead of allocating money to these life-saving programs, $300 MILLION was set aside by Republicans for Trump to play golf. Yes, $300 million to pay for security for Trump’s golf trips – which he took advantage of for 24 out of the first 99 days of his presidency.

It’s one thing to be an absent president and spend all your days golfing, it’s another to be an absent president that steals taxpayer funds from programs built to help Americans withstand and rebuild from catastrophes to pay for all your golfing — payments that are all going to your own golf clubs.

And not only did Trump gut FEMA to pay himself to golf, he also cut climate change prevention mechanisms in his big, ugly, budget bill and in the process, stripped the NWS so drastically that they were (and continue to be) unable to warn residents effectively of major weather events — resulting in deadly events like the tragic situation in Texas right now.

The worst part? This damage is being inflicted on us by some of the stupidest people alive. FEMA staff were left confused last month after their agency head David Richardson said he didn’t know the United States had a hurricane season. Trump himself acknowledged a hurricane season, but said he plans to completely do away with FEMA after this year’s season ends and end federal aid for affected states, leaving aid coordination to Governors that are unequipped to handle such costly disasters. This is a sharp contrast from what he was saying on the campaign trail, as he promised North Carolina full federal support after Hurricane Helene.

Donald Trump’s selfishness and the inability of anyone around him to feel empathy for their friends, neighbors, and fellow Americans have gotten us here. People in Texas have tragically lost their lives, while Trump is making a million-dollar profit and golfing without a care in the world on the taxpayers’ dime. Threatening to cut FEMA after a hurricane season — one that is projected to be more severe than previous years — and playing politics with people’s lives is abhorrent and unacceptable.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the Trump admin has killed, is killing, and will continue to kill thousands of people throughout the next few years, from ripping funding from scientists and meteorologists who dedicate their time to warning others about unpredictable major events, to forcing millions of people off their healthcare, including children, the elderly, and the disabled. We can’t keep letting him get away with this — we need to keep calling him out and shining a light on his cruelty and sheer incompetence.